Al Petteway and Amy White, with their rescue pups Kip, left, and Buki, are preparing for the 11th edition of A Swannanoa Solstice on Dec. 22 at Diana Wortham Theatre.

Written by

Barbara Blake

The epic romance of Amy White and Al Petteway began with Thai curry after a Celtic music concert on St. Patrick's Day in 1995, literally the moment they were introduced by a mutual friend in Washington, D.C.

Neither knew at the time that they would marry the following year and become an award-winning duo on the musical stage, much less wind up living on a mountaintop in Asheville after fleeing the nation's capital post-9/11.

But there was no doubt that they had found their soulmates on that chilly March evening. ...